failures
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Why WildStar's name reservations were screwed up
So WildStar's name reservation system didn't work quite right. It's working now, but when it went live it wasn't working at all, and for a first-come-first-served thing that's kind of a catastrophic problem. Compensation has been announced, but why did everything go wrong? Carbine's director of operations posted in the forums about how things went from bad to worse and where the breakdowns in communication took place. The short version is that it started when a big information drop introduced a lot of new assets to the site, causing even more load than was expected for the page when the name service went up. After that was handled, however, another problem surfaced with the site's feedback, leading to what is described as the server performing what amounts to a DDoS attack against itself. And once that was fixed, another problem surfaced. If you'd like to see the whole breakdown in detail to understand how everything got messed up, take a look at the full post on the official forums.
The Soapbox: Everybody wins
I make no bones about the fact that despite working in this industry for three years, I know there are parts about MMOs and the culture around them that I just do not get. For example, I still have no idea what possesses someone to think that "toon" is a good term for characters. But on a slightly more serious note, I have no idea what makes people cheer for a game to fail. You see it everywhere. World of Warcraft subscription numbers drop; people cheer. Something bad happens to EVE Online's community; people cheer. A game goes free-to-play; people announce the game's impending demise and begin cheering prematurely. A game closes down; people cheer. I don't get this. All right, I get it on the most basic level, inasmuch as this is a game you don't like and you're willing to publicly crow about your schadenfreude. The thing is that this is never a good thing. Cheering for a game you dislike to do badly does not result in anything good.
AGDC09: Jeff Hickman speaks on WAR's shortcomings
During one of the many speeches being given at the Austin Game Developers Conference, Jeff Hickman, producer of Warhammer Online, spoke candidly on what he thought were WAR's failures and where Mythic could have done better. While Hickman has cited more than a few reasons WAR has been caught in the mire, the central theme to all of them is the ease of PvE gameplay and a game that doesn't inspire social interactions.Hickman points out that they wanted the game to include a full battery of social features, including open groups, public quests, and other grouping tools, but they failed to design the game itself to encourage grouping. Part of this lies in the player versus environment quests where the gameplay was too easy and players didn't have a reason to group up.
Opinion: What Wii has done wrong
GameSetWatch has been running an interesting two-part column on the success and failure of the Wii in its first two years on store shelves (2nd anniversary arriving soon, read our 1st anniversary theme week here!). The second part of the piece, which focuses on the negatives, has a couple of interesting tidbits worth pointing out. The first thing the piece focuses on is waggle and how the early promises of a more immersed experience for the gamer have not been fulfilled. We're willing to concede that, because of how great the console has sold in such a small period of time and how many developers and publishers have proceeded to churn out shovelware and dirty ports just in an attempt to cash in. There are always exceptions to the rule, however, with not only Nintendo showing us the amazing and unique things that can be done with the control scheme, as well as some other third party developers and their titles (Zack & Wiki, Let's Tap, and No More Heroes, just to name a few). We won't spoil the rest of the piece for you, but, to be honest, it's really good. It calls the Wii out for a lot of its shortcomings, and not in a totally biased tone. And, if bashing the Wii doesn't sound like an interesting topic for an article to you, read the first part, where it's nothing but Wii love. Source - Two Years In - The Wii's Successes Source - Two Years In - How the Wii Has Failed
Space station computers pass final test, Atlantis to come home
It's been a rocky few days in space, but it looks like the crashed Russian computers aboard the International Space Station are back up and running to spec, allowing the crew of Atlantis to depart tomorrow. There's still no word on what caused the computers -- which control vital life support systems, as well as the station's stabilizers and directional thrusters -- to fail, but the leading theory involves a surge from the new solar power array the shuttle astronauts installed. We're glad everything's okay -- but also we're totally curious as to what OS / processor combo they're running up there.
Critical space station computers fail
An array of busted computers that control the International Space Station's orientation and oxygen and water supplies could force the orbiting hotel's three current residents to either extend their stay or make an emergency departure. The Russian-made computers are critical for sustaining life aboard the station, and while astronauts have a 56-day supply of oxygen remaining and the ability to manually fire the control thrusters, we've seen 2001 enough times to know that space and computer malfunctions don't mix. So far the cause of the failure is a real head-scratcher for Russian engineers tasked with troubleshooting the problem (where's Cosmonaut Gates when you need him?), though current suspicions lie with power issues related to the new solar array delivered by Atlantis on this most recent shuttle mission. For real-time updates on this crisis, just grab a telescope and follow along for yourself...[Thanks, Eli R]
Text sex: the naughty MUD that wasn't
In this week's Escapist, MUD legend Richard Bartle takes a look at a project that was never released -- an erotic, text-based massively multiplayer game. According to Bartle, sex via text has the advantage of being completely freeform, allowing anything and everything, and holds a greater appeal for women.An interesting design twist means that the act of intercourse itself was implemented "using a modification of the classic MUD combat system". Instead of getting points yourself, however, you gained points based on your partner's prowess. Sadly, the game was not to be -- the company behind it ran out of money -- but comparing it to today's heavily graphically-oriented sex games, we have to wonder whether 3D is the answer to everything sex-wise.
Kane Kramer: "world's biggest failure" for losing DAP patents
We thought the matter had been resolved earlier today when our President credited the government with developing the technology that led to the iPod-filled world we live in today, but now another claimant has come forward in an attempt to recoup his "rightful share" of a billion dollar DAP market he may have helped create. British inventor and furniture shop manager Kane Kramer is currently consulting lawyers to see what, if any, recourse he has to enforce patents he filed in 1981 for an iPod-like device but which he subsequently lost control of due to reported boardroom coup. The patents, which describe a three-and-a-half-minute-capacity digital audio player with a screen and central navigation controls, eventually became part of the public domain after Kramer's company dissolved and he was unable to raise the money required for renewing them across 120 countries. Kramer, who is most definitely aware of the riches he lost out on, says that the runaway success of iPods specifically and DAPs in general surely makes him "the world's biggest failure."
